Textiles

November 07, 2017

In the early 1900s, American tobacco companies produced a variety of free tobacco premiums and souvenirs that were included with their products. One type of premium, the “tobacco silk,” also referred to as a “cigarette silk,” featured images of animals, U.S. presidents, college seals, and fraternal names and symbols. Manufacturers marketed the silks as collectible items that could be used to make quilts and other textiles. The silks, often made of satin, featured both printed and embroidered images.

The pillow cover to the right, in the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library collection, is one example of how consumers may have used these silks. The pillow cover, made by the donor’s grandmother in the early 1900s, includes over fifty-five silks that feature the names of different universities and fraternal groups from across the United States. The fraternal silks include officer titles, jewels, and symbols from familiar groups like the Freemasons, Knights of Columbus, and Elks.

The names of two American tobacco companies active in the early 1900s, Egyptienne Luxury and Turkey Red, are woven at the bottom of the silks. Both companies capitalized on the popularity of Turkish and Egyptian cigarettes in Europe and America from the 1880s through World War I. The tobacco silk premium promotion was relatively short-lived. They were only included in packaging or as something consumers could send away for from about 1900 to 1915. The number and variety of fraternal groups included in silk promotion illustrates the popularity fraternal organizations enjoyed in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Has someone in your family made a textile with tobacco silks? Do you have your own collection of fraternal silks? Let us know in the comments below.

January 10, 2017

I love learning about regional styles of craft and the cultural reasons that associate a particular style or design with a specific area. This is why when I saw a striking apron from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts on long-term loan to the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, I was excited.

As recounted in Curiosities of the Craft the name “William O’Brien” is written on the underside of the apron’s flap. William O’Brien (1753-1784) was a member of the O’Brien family of Machias, Maine. William's brother, the famous Captain Jeremiah

O'Brien (1744-1818), is credited with capturing a British ship during the first naval battle of the American Revolution. The most common story associated with this apron was that it was worn during the procession held in memory of George Washington in 1800. However, this story conflicts with existing dates since William O’Brien died in Spain in 1784 and he would have been unable to participate in the processions. It is possible that the apron may have belonged to William but was worn by one of his brothers for the procession. William was a member of the Philanthropic Lodge in Marblehead, Massachusetts, while Jeremiah belonged to the St. Andrews Lodge of Boston.

The apron is made of white leather with “Memento Mori” (Remember Death) written in black ink across the front. While it is easy to be drawn in by this intriguing message, the black lace trimming on the apron also helps to illuminate the object’s history. The lace’s pattern is nearly identical to a pattern made in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Ipswich was the home of a lace industry from approximately the 1750s to 1840. A sample from

Whipple House detail from The Laces of Ipswich by Marta Cotterell Raffel. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

the Whipple House in Ipswich, an Ipswich historic property named for its first owner, entrepreneur Captain John Whipple (1596-1669), shows striking similarities to the Grand Lodge apron. Both use thicker thread (called gimp) to outline parts of the design. The “spider” motif pattern under the gimp outline near the scalloped edge of the apron lace is very similar to the Whipple House sample. In Laces of Ipswich, Marta Cotterell Raffel explains that lace makers developed the Whipple House pattern in the region. In fact, the Whipple House sample was sent to the Library of Congress as part of a survey of early regional American industries. The marked similarity between the lace on the apron and the Whipple House lace sample supports the story that this apron originated in New England.

No matter who wore the apron, the time and places William and his brothers were active in a time and place when Ipswich lace would have been available. Due to trade embargoes and boycotts of British goods, Ipswich lace may have been a patriotic and also a practical decision. Though delicate and purely ornamental, this black lace helps tell a story of early industry on the North Shore and of the men who fought to win American Independence.

Kayla Bishop is a volunteer in the Museum's collections department. For the past 5 months, Kayla has assisted in all aspects of collections management. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University.

October 04, 2016

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library received the Masonic quilt at left as a recent gift. It was made in 1981 and helps us bring our fraternal quilt collection closer to the present, allowing us to compare and contrast this quilt with others from the 1800s and early 1900s (see these previous blog posts!). Anyone who quilted or sewed during the late 1970s and early 1980s may recognize some of the fabrics if you look at them closely. We loved the story that the donor told about this quilt's history. His aunt, a lieutenant commander and nurse in the U.S. Navy, made this bed covering for him on the occasion of his installation as Master of Crescent Lodge in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, for the second time. Edith Bowen, the quilt's maker, bought a book about Masonic symbols here at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library to help her design the quilt, which includes appliqued squares and compasses, cornucopias, a lyre and other recognizable symbols.

Shortly after we received this Masonic quilt, we were also given the fraternal quilt at right. Made in 1989, it shows the symbol of the Pythian Sisters, a female auxiliary of the Knights of Pythias (for more on this group, see our posts), which was formed after the Civil War. This quilt was a gift, honoring the accomplishments and volunteer efforts of one Pythian Sisters member, on the occasion of the group's centennial.

Have you made any Masonic or fraternal quilts? Have you received one? If so, we'd love to hear about it in a comment below.

September 06, 2016

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library has many images of George Washington (1732-1799) in its collection (stay tuned for more on that over the coming months!). This banner features an image of the first president standing next to his horse. So far, the source for this image of Washington is unknown. The portrait may be original to the banner.

The banner was probably produced as a souvenir in 1876, when the United States was celebrating its centennial. Textiles like this one, along with many other items, were available for sale around the country and especially at the Centennial Exposition held that year in Philadelphia. The red, white and blue color scheme was popular, along with the star, stripe and shield motifs, which were clearly understood as American symbols. The shields are expressly identified on the banner as "Shield of U.S. America."

Washington is reading a letter inscribed "Victory is Ours, Paul Jones." This seems to be a reference to Revolutionary naval hero John Paul Jones (1747-1792). Jones's best-known battle occurred in September 1779 while he served as captain of the Bonhomme Richard. Jones engaged the Serapis, a British warship. Outgunned from the beginning, Jones's ship suffered an onboard accident early in the battle when two of its guns exploded. To compensate, Jones brought his ship close to the Serapis and secured the two ships using grapples and lines. When the British captain asked Jones if he surrendered, Jones is famously said to have answered "I have not yet begun to fight." Indeed, Jones led his crew to victory by repelling a British boarding party and causing significant damage to the Serapis.

George Washington is well known as a Freemason; he joined Virginia's Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4 in 1753. John Paul Jones was also a Freemason. He joined Saint Bernard Lodge No. 122 in Scotland in 1770, later becoming a member of the Lodge of Nine Sisters in Paris.

Do you have a centennial souvenir in your collection? Have you ever seen a similar portrait of George Washington? Let us know in a comment!

George Washington Banner, ca. 1876, unidentified maker, United States or England, gift of the Valley of Peoria, Illinois, A.A.S.R., N.M.J., 2008.025. Photograph by David Bohl.

July 19, 2016

Several generations of the Hill family, all members of Liberty Lodge in Beverly, Massachusetts, passed down this apron and two others painted with a strikingly similar design. A descendant from the family recently donated all three aprons to the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library. The apron shows a common arrangement of symbols: three steps up to a mosaic pavement (symbolizing the good and evil in life), with two columns and a square and compasses (signifying reason and faith) with a “G” (an emblem for God or geometry or both) above an open Bible in the center. Other symbols are painted on each side, and an all-seeing eye decorates the flap.

While this particular apron does not have a label on the back, one of the other very similar-looking aprons in the gift does. The almost identical appearance and the aprons' history suggest that the same maker who labeled one apron made all three: Lakeman and Hooper in Salem, Massachusetts. Nathan Lakeman (1804-1835) and Stephen Hooper started advertising their partnership in the local Salem newspapers in early 1824. An ad in the Essex Register in February 1824 explained that the men “have taken rooms in the building on the corner of Essex and Washington streets, where they will execute Masonic, Portrait, Sign, Fancy and Glass Tablet Painting with neatness and despatch.”

Later newspaper advertisements featured their Masonic work more prominently. Lakeman joined Jordan Lodge in Danvers in 1827, serving as Secretary from 1828 to 1832. One ad, which appeared in 1824, began with the bold heading “MASONIC” and then specified, “Knights Templars, Royal Arch, and Master Mason’s Aprons and Sashes, For sale by Lakeman & Hooper.” However, by June 1825, the two men seem to have gone their separate ways, judging by an advertisement in the Essex Register offering “Masonic Aprons of the newest and most elegant patterns, constantly for sale by N. Lakeman … Floorings, Royal arch Dresses, &c. furnished at short notice.” Lakeman continued advertising alone throughout the 1820s. A fourth apron in the Museum & Library collection (see photo at right; it is not part of the recent gift) also has a label for Lakeman & Hooper on the back, but “Hooper” is crossed out, suggesting that it was made (or sold) after the men dissolved their partnership.

In 1831, Lakeman married and took a job as cashier of the Danvers Bank. He seems to have stopped advertising as a painter, but it is unknown whether he continued to paint on the side. Sadly, Nathan Lakeman died of consumption in 1835 when he was only thirty-one years old. His obituary noted that “a wide circle of acquaintance lament his death—the aching hearts of more intimate friends are the melancholy testimonies of his worth.”

This selection of four aprons by the same maker in the Museum & Library collection offers a unique opportunity to study the choices made by the artist and the customer. While the design is essentially the same on each apron, they show small differences that could suggest the personal preferences of the customer or the growing skill of the artist. For more on Masonic aprons, check out our book, The Badge of a Freemason: Masonic Aprons from the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, which can be ordered here. The apron at top left is currently [July 2016] on view at the Museum & Library as part of our exhibition of Recent Acquisitions. For more about our exhibitions, location and hours, visit our website, http://www.srmml.org/.

March 29, 2016

With calls of “play ball” starting the 2016 baseball season this coming Sunday, it seemed right to focus our blog post this week on a Masonic baseball jersey that we recently added to the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library collection. The short-sleeved shirt is off-white with dark pinstripes and bears the team name across the chest, “Ionic.” What made this an exciting find for us is the blue patch on one sleeve with a square and compasses symbol and a G in the center. This jersey seems to have been worn by a member of a team in a Masonic baseball league during the late 1910s or early 1920s.

“A Masonic baseball league?” you might ask, “how many of those could there have been?” Turns out, there were several, so we don’t know where this shirt was originally worn. Initially, we thought that the jersey might have been used by the Ionic team that played in Detroit during the 1910s and 1920s. Newspaper accounts from 1917 through 1921 trace the league’s games and frequently reference the Ionic team, who were the 1918 champions. But we haven’t been able to conclusively link this shirt to the Detroit league yet. There was also a league active in western New York during the 1930s, although we do not have a complete list of team names. And, Duluth, Minnesota, Freemasons organized an “indoor baseball league” in 1914, which was active into the 1920s. Newspaper articles confirm that this league had an Ionic Lodge team, but a March 1922 article about their playoff contest refers to them as “the Red and Gray squad,” suggesting their team colors do not match this jersey.

Other items in our collection also tell us that “Masonic” baseball games took place in New Jersey. This ticket (at right), from our Archives, admitted the bearer to a game on June 24, 1911, between Irvington’s Franklin Lodge No. 10 and Newark’s Oriental Lodge No. 51. And, a photo in our collection (below) from October 1935 documents an “All-Star Masonic Game” that was played in Trenton between National League and American League players. The teams were made up of professional baseball players who were also Freemasons. It seems to have been a fundraising event put on by Trenton’s Tall Cedars of Lebanon Forest No. 4.

Our Ionic shirt has a label stitched inside telling us that it was made by Thomas E. Wilson and Company in Chicago. However, a few years before this shirt was made, in 1909 and 1910, consecutive Grand Masters of Illinois ruled that a group of baseball clubs with all-Masonic players “cannot use the name “Masonic Baseball League” or any other name in which Mason or Masonic appears” in the jurisdiction. While creating the league and playing the games was not banned, it was felt that “it would not do for lodges to vote funds for the entertainment and amusement of a few members, who desire to engage in something foreign to Masonry.”

Histories of Thomas E. Wilson and Company (known today as Wilson Sporting Goods Company) help us to date this jersey between 1916 and 1925, when it was using the particular label in this shirt, and the Thomas E. Wilson and Company name. Thomas E. Wilson (1868-1958), who was born in Canada and came to Chicago in 1877, joined that city’s Mizpah Lodge No. 768 in 1894. Do you have any documents or objects associated with a Masonic baseball league? Do you know where this jersey might have been used? Leave us a comment below!

Recently, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library added the needlework picture on the left to its collection. Stitched on brown perforated paper in a tent stitch (commonly used in needlepoint, the thread or yarn is stitched diagonally, making a slant), it bears the motto “Friendship, Love and Truth” along with several symbols related to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Originally formed in England in the 1740s, the Odd Fellows are a fraternal organization for men. The group’s founders looked to Freemasonry (formalized in London in 1717) as a model for their fraternity. Like Freemasonry, the Odd Fellows perform degree rituals using a symbolic language, wear aprons and pursue fellowship and charity, among other activities.

Needlework mottoes like this one were especially popular for home decoration during the late 1800s. The perforated paper mimicked woven fabrics and allowed the stitcher to create designs quickly using the simple tent and cross stitches. The front of this needlework is quite faded, suggesting that it hung in a sunny area of the owner's home for many years. The photo on the right shows the back of the picture, which was covered while it hung on the wall. As this photo shows, the original colors were very bright. It helps to demonstrate the fading and damage that prolonged sunlight can cause for textiles.

The back shows the original colors. Photograph by David Bohl.

Shortly before we acquired the Odd Fellows motto shown above last year, we also added the motto at the bottom to our collection. Initially, because of the all-seeing eye and the square and compasses symbols, the dealer offered it to us as a “Masonic picture.” However, the lettering, which reads “Honesty, Industry and Sobriety,” identifies it as an Order of United American Mechanics motto. Patterns for these mottoes came in many designs, including ones targeted to members of American fraternal groups. Like the Odd Fellows, the Order of United American Mechanics also took inspiration from Freemasonry when establishing itself. This is evident from the symbols on this motto.

The Order of United American Mechanics was founded in 1845 as a nativist anti-immigration organization. One of its objectives was to help its native-born members find employment. Given its focus on labor, the square and compasses emblem used by the OUAM usually has an arm in the center wielding a hammer, although that part of the symbol is not included on this motto.

Order of United American Mechanics Motto, 1860-1900, unidentified maker, United States, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library purchase, 2015.018. Photograph by David Bohl.

February 02, 2016

Recently, we were able to add this Masonic apron to our collection. It shows symbols associated with the Rose Croix degree of the Scottish Rite, which is the fraternity that founded and supports the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library. Many people, Freemasons and non-Masons alike, assume that the fraternity’s name, “Scottish Rite,” honors the roots of the group and that it originated in Scotland. Some historical sources have fostered this story by suggesting that Scottish supporters of the Stuarts of England invented the Scottish Rite degrees in the 1600s to advance their political cause. The Scottish Rite was actually established in France in the 1700s, followed trade routes to the West Indies and was then imported to North America.

Once a man becomes a Master Mason, he may choose to join additional Masonic groups, such as the Scottish Rite. Today, members perform a series of twenty-nine degrees (4th-32nd) as morality plays. Freemasons often call the Scottish Rite “the University of Freemasonry,” as the degrees are designed to supplement and amplify the philosophical lessons of the first three degrees by exploring the philosophy, history and ethics that guide members. A 33rd degree is conferred as an honorary degree on selected members.

The Rose Croix degree, for which this apron was used, is the 18th degree in the Scottish Rite’s Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. It tells the biblical story of the building of the Temple of Zerubbabel on the site of Solomon’s Temple, which had been destroyed. The apron shows the symbols used in the ritual: the pelican piercing her breast to feed her children with her blood; a cross with a rose; and several symbolic tools along the side. As the symbols on the apron suggest – note the implements of the crucifixion at bottom center – the ritual explores the idea of resurrection and alludes to the story of Jesus Christ.

The design of this apron is probably French, although it can be hard to tell if an apron was actually made in France, or was influenced by French style and made in the United States. The motif of the ribbons along the sides with tools is often seen on French aprons. For more examples of Rose Croix aprons, see our recent publication, The Badge of a Freemason: Masonic Aprons from the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, which can be ordered here.

January 05, 2016

Freemasonry is widely recognized as the first fraternal group to organize in America. There are accounts of men meeting together in informal lodges during the 1720s. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was formally established in 1733. As the most venerable group of its kind, Freemasonry served as an inspiration for other American fraternal groups throughout the 1700s and 1800s. When the Independent Order of Odd Fellows began in England in the mid-1700s, and came to the United States in the early 1800s, it followed the degree structure of Freemasonry and incorporated similar symbols and regalia.

Among the early regalia items worn by the Odd Fellows were aprons. Recently, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library acquired this Odd Fellows apron that was originally worn by a member of Maine’s Astoria Lodge No. 38. Based on the lodge’s history, the apron dates between 1846 and 1862. In 1846, the lodge was founded in Frankfort, Maine. By 1849, the lodge numbered 83 members. The last meeting of the lodge was held on December 30, 1862. A brief published history of the lodge alludes to its dramatic end, “various causes combined led to the death of the Lodge. Many of the members moved away, others lost all interest in the order, and a few proved themselves unworthy. One, who held a prominent position, used a large portion of the fund, leaving worthless paper as security. This soured and disappointed many, and finally the Lodge ceased work.”

Accompanying the apron is a receipt dated July 1, 1849, documenting that Brother Leonard B. Pratt (1820-1882) paid his quarterly assessments for nine months, for a total of $2.25. Pratt lived in Bucksport, Maine, near Frankfort, where the lodge met. Like many Odd Fellows aprons, this one is shield shaped and includes the fraternity’s three-link chain emblem, signifying “the only chain by which [members] are bound together is that of Friendship, Love and Truth.” Odd Fellows used the red and white colors for regalia worn by the Noble Grand, the Outside Guardian and state Grand Officers.

The apron will be on view in our lobby, starting in February 2016, as part of a small exhibition of some of our recent acquisitions. We hope you will be able to come by and see it in person. See our website for hours and directions. And, if you have seen any similar aprons or know more about Astoria Lodge, please leave us a comment!

November 02, 2015

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library is pleased to share a recent article from The New York Times antiques section featuring our book, The Badge of a Freemason: Masonic Aprons from the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library. Click on this link to see the article.

The book makes a wonderful holiday gift. To order, visit www.scottishritenmj.org/shop. The book is available for $39.95 plus shipping and tax (if applicable).

Author - and the Museum's Director of Collections - Aimee E. Newell, Ph.D., will be offering an up-close look at a selection of aprons from our collection on April 9, 2016. The fee is $15 for Museum members and $20 for non-members. Space is limited. Register by March 30, 2016, by emailing programs[@]monh.org. For more information on the workshop and on becoming a member, visit our website.